Ghata flood control project to get final nod next week

Though the check dam project was supposed start in September last year with an objective to hold the run-off from the Aravalli hills, it had failed to take off due to lack of clarity over fund sanction. However, the forest department wrote to the divisional commissioner officer on Thursday asking him to finalise the project next week

The proposed check dam project on the Ghata lake will get the final nod next week. The project is a crucial initiative as it aims to protect the city from getting flooded during the rainy season.

Though the project was supposed start in September last year with an objective to hold the run-off from the Aravalli hills, it had failed to take off due to lack of clarity over fund sanction. However, the forest department wrote to the divisional commissioner officer on Thursday asking him to finalise the project next week.

Once the project is finalised, work will start at Ghata Lake which is located at Sector 58. It was informed that the construction of the five check dams will take about two to three months and this time of the year is ideal to start work on the project, forest department officials said.

“We expect to get the final approval for the project next week. The sooner the project goes into implementation, the better are the city’s chances of being spared its usual monsoon woes. We will hold a meeting with the divisional commissioner to finalise the project,” MD Sinha, conservator of Gurgaon, South Haryana, said.

Ghata lake once used to be linked to he Sultanpur Lake through Badhshapur Nullah via Sohna Road. However, due to unchecked construction on the road, the link got cut off. With the link now lost, rainwater gushes on to the Golf Course Extension Road during monsoon resulting in massive waterlogging in the area.

Once the project is completed, the run-off that leads to waterlogging in areas adjacent to Ghata, Wazirabad, Silani, Haiderpur Viran, Chakkarpur and Nathupur will be checked to a large extent.

As per the current proposal of the forest department, the cost of constructing five check dams will come to about Rs 2.15 crore. It marks a significant reduction from Rs 14 crore for 250 dams as was proposed by the MCG (Municipal Corporation of Gurugram) earlier.

A seasonal water body, the Ghata lake was extensively documented in the Gazette of India way back in 1883. The natural lake used to hold enough water and was 50 feet deep even five years back. The proposed water harvesting structures around it was supposed to hold the run-off from the Aravallis. However, rainwater continued to flood the region during monsoon and a lot of what was proposed remained on paper.

D Suresh, divisional commissioner, Gurgaon, said, “We have already examined the project and are waiting for it to be cleared for implementation. We are scheduled to have a meeting with the forest officials after which we hope to get started on it.